Nawaz’s son-in-law surfaces in Rawalpindi for court arrest

Rawalpindi: Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar Awan, convicted in the Avenfield case, appeared at a rally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Safdar said he is here to court arrest among his supporters, Geo TV reported.

Safdar was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on July 6 in the Avenfield case.

According to the report, Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) teams were heading to the venue to arrest Safdar. The Punjab Police has also been instructed to assist the NAB team.

Earlier in the day, Safdar had reportedly vowed to surrender from an undisclosed location.

“I had earlier decided to court arrest in Tarnol, but as per the party’s decision I will now surrender from another city. Surrendering is an honourable act,” Geo TV had quoted Safdar’s audio message. Safdar’s name has been added to the blacklist; he now cannot leave the country.

Safdar’s last known location, since the verdict was announced, was his home constituency of Mansehra from where he intended to contest the general elections in Pakistan scheduled on July 25.

Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam on Saturday said she and her father will return to Pakistan on July 13.

Sharif has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of eight million pounds has been slapped on him in the Avenfield reference case while his daughter was sentenced to seven years of jail and fined two million pounds by the accountability court.